Hootsuite Social Media Management » Hannah Clarkhttp://blog.hootsuite.com
Engage, Monitor, Collaborate and Analyze, SecurelyFri, 31 Jul 2015 16:15:25 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.2Snapchat Killed Brand Stories. Here’s What You Can Buy Insteadhttp://blog.hootsuite.com/snapchat-killed-brand-stories-heres-what-you-can-buy-instead/
http://blog.hootsuite.com/snapchat-killed-brand-stories-heres-what-you-can-buy-instead/#commentsTue, 21 Apr 2015 12:00:10 +0000http://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=70599Last week, it was announced that Snapchat would stop selling its original ad unit, Brand Stories. These ads made headlines when they first launched last fall, and not... Read More

While Universal Pictures, Macy’s, McDonald’s, and Samsung were among those who purchased Snapchat ads, Adweek reported that many other brands were wary of laying such a huge amount of money down for an advertisement that only lasted 24 hours.

With Snapchat’s Brand Stories on the way out, we decided to take a look at what you could buy instead using that $750,000. The numbers might be slightly off, but that’s not the point of this exercise. The point is to show that a) $750,000 is a huge amount of money, probably too much for a social ad, and b) there are way cheaper alternatives, like putting a billboard on your new French Castle. Take a look:

If you’re planning your social media advertising budget, here are some options to consider:

]]>http://blog.hootsuite.com/snapchat-killed-brand-stories-heres-what-you-can-buy-instead/feed/0Castleferarridouble_decker_taco_supremepuckssmartcarhedgehogpopcorn-boxMink8 Ways to Get Likes and Followers on Instagramhttp://blog.hootsuite.com/8-ways-get-likes-followers-instagram/
http://blog.hootsuite.com/8-ways-get-likes-followers-instagram/#commentsThu, 26 Feb 2015 14:00:19 +0000http://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=69125If there’s one thing on social media that makes everyone happy, it’s getting more likes and more followers. So you’ve created an Instagram account. You’re excited about sharing... Read More

]]>If there’s one thing on social media that makes everyone happy, it’s getting more likes and more followers.

So you’ve created an Instagram account. You’re excited about sharing some awesome photos or videos that you’ve taken that reflect your brand (whether it’s your personal brand, or managing the account for your business), and you are enthusiastic about earning some love from fellow Instagram users. After connecting your Instagram and Facebook accounts, you’ve seen your following grow—maybe you have around a hundred or so followers, but then it plateaus. It’s around this point in your Instagram game that you might think, “Man, this is impossible.”

Well, today, I have some good news. We’ll go over a few pretty simple ways to get your Instagram account some major cred in the form of likes and followers.

Here are 8 ways you can get likes and followers on Instagram

#1: Have a theme

Many successful Instagram accounts have a certain theme that carries throughout each of their photos. Ask yourself, just what is my thing? This could mean you are completely location based, like NYC-based photographer @alice_gao. Or maybe you are a small restaurant that wants to highlight its delicious menu—if that’s the case, find inspiration from @tattebakery.

A photo posted by deustemple (@deustemple) on Jan 18, 2015 at 5:01pm PST

Whatever your thing may be, stick to it. Your followers want to see consistency, and in turn, will trust your account for meeting their expectations. Just think, if you’re following a high-fashion account, you’d probably be thrown off by suddenly seeing an image of a blueberry muffin!

#2: Post awesome content

The key to getting more followers and likes on Instagram is posting really amazing content. For followers to continue coming back and double-tapping your photos, they need to be confident that you will be consistently putting up high-quality photos and interesting captions. However, giving your audience what it wants to see doesn’t mean you have to post the same kind photos over and over again… let’s be real, it can be a bit boring. Switch up your angles and subjects while keeping true to the brand you established in #1.

#3: Tell a story with your caption

After taking a killer photo, editing it, and getting it ready to send out, it can be easy to let the caption slip. But don’t fall into the trap! Captions are an incredibly important element of your photo. Telling a story with your captions gives your followers a little bit of insight into you as an expert, and the context of the photo. The best combination though, is having an amazing photo and a great caption to go along with it. Photographer Alex Guiry not only tells a story with his stunning photos, but gives his audience a behind-the-scenes narrative that leaves them wanting to see and hear more.

#4: Stick to a schedule

It’s important that your followers know when to expect a new photo. As we discussed before, consistency and rhythm is key. A lot of this will be based on how much content you have to post. If you find yourself swimming in beautiful images and begin posting daily, you’re going to have to keep it up by queueing up a photo for each day. Setting up a content calendar for your Instagram account will do wonders for keeping things organized, and this can really make a huge difference for your follower and like count.

The last thing you want is to update your account once a day or once a week, and then disappear for weeks. While taking a break from social media might not seem like a big deal, it will get in the way of building a loyal following and community.

#5: Engage with followers

Your followers want to know that there is a real, live person behind the amazing photos on their feed. What better way to show them that you aren’t just an Instagram obot than by reaching out and engaging. It’s a great way to let them know that you appreciate their comments and their likes.

How about checking out some of their accounts as well, and sharing the love by liking any photo that catches your eye? This doesn’t mean going and like-spamming your followers’ accounts, but building a relationship by acknowledging their talent and presence on Instagram in return for their appreciation of your photos.

#6: Hashtags… But not too many hashtags

Lately, hashtags have been seen as one of the best tools to help get more views on your post. While it’s a great way to have your content seen by users who aren’t following your account, it’s not always the best strategy for getting more loyal followers. Using broad hashtags such as #love or #dog won’t get you as much exposure as you’d hope, because these photos are quickly buried by more recent photos from other users. By using more unique, targeted hashtags (#dogsofinstagram) that speak to the theme of your account will do far more good than using a ton of broad ones. While using hashtags is a great way to reach strangers, they should be relevant to the content you are posting. Using too many hashtags may seem like you just trying too hard. Find the perfect balance by using two or three hashtags that define what your photo is trying to convey.

#7: Branded hashtags

Branded hashtags are becoming a major thing on Instagram. Many brands are leveraging branded hashtags to engage with a theme relevant to their audience. Brands encourage their community to tag their own photos with the hashtag, whether the product is featured or not. By creating a branded hashtag, you can create serious brand loyalty between you and your community. Your brand will benefit by increasing your exposure to new customers, and your customers will benefit from the love they see from your brand engagement. It’s a great way to motivate the Instagram community to engage with your brand, and showcase some user-generated content on your brand’s page.

A photo posted by Great North Collective (@greatnorthco) on Feb 24, 2015 at 8:00am PST

#8: Use the Explore tool

Using the Explore tool opens up your feed to new and exciting photos that you most likely wouldn’t have found on your own. By engaging with users that are outside of your following (through likes and comments), you are getting a whole new level of visibility for your account!

Want to get your photos onto the Explore page? There are two factors that can influence your chances: the amount of engagement a photo gets in likes and comments, and the amount of time it takes to get that engagement after the photo was first posted.

When you actively comment and reply to your followers, you are creating an engaging conversation, which will help increase the amount of comments on your photo. This positive reinforcement alone means you have a higher chance of having your photo featured on the Explore page.

]]>http://blog.hootsuite.com/8-ways-get-likes-followers-instagram/feed/0Get likes and followers on Instagram – Explore tabWhat Content Earns You The Most Engagement on Facebook? Question of the Weekhttp://blog.hootsuite.com/engagement-on-facebook-question-week/
http://blog.hootsuite.com/engagement-on-facebook-question-week/#commentsSat, 13 Sep 2014 11:00:30 +0000http://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=64794Are you spending a lot of time and effort to carefully curate content to post on your Facebook page only to find that most (if not all) of... Read More

]]>Are you spending a lot of time and effort to carefully curate content to post on your Facebook page only to find that most (if not all) of your posts are falling flat when it comes to likes, comments and shares? You are most definitely not alone. Since we first realized that Facebook Pages’ organic reach was on a downward spiral, social media managers have been in a bit of a panic trying to see the numbers that they were seeing in years past.

For Facebook users, this means there will be much higher-quality posts and engaging content rising to the top of our News Feeds. But for businesses that can’t afford to spend their hard-earned cash on promoting each and every post, things might be a bit more difficult.

Last week, we asked our followers, What content earns the most likes, comments and shares on your Facebook page? The outpouring of answers was incredibly interesting. It seems like the type of content that performs well on your Facebook pages has changed substantially in the past few years. While the social network itself continues to grow, the type of content we are producing needs to adapt along with it. So what type of content is earning you the most engagement? Let’s take a look at your answers.

@hootsuite on @YoonekConcepts we’ve been having huge Facebook success with either funny or original pics that speak to the local community

Many of our followers agreed that their most engaging content on Facebook are images, and there are, in fact, statistics to back them up.

According to Wishpond, a photo on Facebook is going to get you (on average) 120% more engagement than a post without. Photo posts on Facebook receive 53% more likes than the average post, and 104% more comments. This is absolutely something you should keep in mind when it comes to scheduling your next Facebook post.

@hootsuite something that we can share common interest.. Something emotional

We all love to see emotional stories of people overcoming adversity on Facebook. Not only do they inspire us to do better for ourselves, but it is heartwarming to see how hope and courage can change a person’s life. Sites like Upworthy and Buzzfeed have become masters of pulling people into their heartwarming content with extremely appealing social messaging.

The key on Facebook is to find ways to capture your audience’s attention by sparking their curiosity and then actually meeting their expectations with great content. How could content like that not go viral?

big butts “@hootsuite: What content earns the most likes, comments and shares on your Facebook page?”

]]>http://blog.hootsuite.com/engagement-on-facebook-question-week/feed/0Wish You Had Social Media When You Were in School? Question of the Weekhttp://blog.hootsuite.com/wish-social-media-school/
http://blog.hootsuite.com/wish-social-media-school/#commentsSat, 06 Sep 2014 11:00:00 +0000http://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=64587Go check your Facebook feeds right now. You’ll be flooded with photos of your friend’s children — kids anywhere from pre-k to high school —with captions explaining how they are... Read More

]]>Go check your Facebook feeds right now. You’ll be flooded with photos of your friend’s children — kids anywhere from pre-k to high school —with captions explaining how they are “back to school again” or “time flies, look at how much they’ve grown!” Is there a GIANT backpack involved or maybe a gap-toothed grin? Yes, as September ushers in the school year, we are seeing more and more back to school social media posts.

But, would you want to be the kid in these photos? Having parents and friends constantly tagging photos and status updates with you in them; these might not be their proudest moments looking back in five or ten years. Having social media accounts also comes with a lot of responsibility, and this can be hard for school-aged kids to understand. The last thing young people want is another set of rules, but the fact is irresponsible social media use could potentially ruin your education and later impact your career. On the other hand, social media is a great tool to use as an education tool and subject.

We decided to ask our Twitter followers if they ever wished they had social media when they were in school. Scrolling through the answers was interesting, and a bit hilarious. Let’s take a look at what our followers think about being in school in the age of social media.

So, we ended up getting a resounding NO! It almost felt like our followers were shouting it at us through the internet: they were quite happy without having the added distraction of social media while they were in school. For many of us, it was hard enough to navigate growing up, let alone doing it and looking cool on social media. Kids can also be mean, and having to deal with it at home (on social media) as well as at school in person can be a very daunting thought.

Do you have an opinion on being in school in the age of social media? Join the conversation and let us know what you think in the comments below!

]]>http://blog.hootsuite.com/wish-social-media-school/feed/0Social Media Syllabus: What Incoming Freshmen Need to Know About Social Mediahttp://blog.hootsuite.com/incoming-freshmen-need-to-know-about-social-media/
http://blog.hootsuite.com/incoming-freshmen-need-to-know-about-social-media/#commentsThu, 04 Sep 2014 11:00:41 +0000http://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=64533If you’re an incoming university freshman, chances are you’ve had a pretty active life on social media for the past several years. Despite growing up with Facebook and... Read More

]]>If you’re an incoming university freshman, chances are you’ve had a pretty active life on social media for the past several years. Despite growing up with Facebook and Twitter, many students aren’t taught how to take the skills they’ve already used on social media and apply them professionally. Businesses’ growing expectations for their employees to be social media professionals puts educators in a tough spot: How do you teach students a skill they (think) they already know?

Hootsuite is bringing together a panel of social media professors to share tactics on transforming students from digital natives to digital savvy professionals. If you’re interested in hearing more tips on this kind of transformation, make sure to vote for this panel to be at SXSWedu 2015 for a chance to meet them in Austin.

For many of the freshmen starting University this week, the transition means taking social media more seriously. The stakes are getting higher, almost like when young people start their professional lives. It’s a safe bet that some incoming freshmen have high school social media habits that should not be brought to college. If you’re heading off to college this fall, here are a few tips to making sure your social media etiquette is on lock to get the most out of your university career:

1. Don’t Friend Your Professors

Hopefully you haven’t already added your high school teachers on Facebook. It seems these days, just about everyone is on social media (and for good reason). However, this does not mean they are sitting around waiting for their students to start sending friend requests each semester.

If you are looking for a way to connect with your professor outside of class, take a look at the faculty directory or arrange for a meeting during their office hours. This way, you can check in and ask questions about your performance without getting too personal (and they’ll appreciate the initiative).

Have you thought about connecting with your professors on LinkedIn? This can be a more “professional” way to connect with a potential academic reference on social media without exposing them to photos of you doing your first keg stand.

2. Don’t Create a Friend List of Strangers

You should resist the temptation to creep everyone in your school’s freshman class before arriving on campus. Many schools start Facebook groups for students; sometimes residence halls and buildings create groups you can join as a way to connect with other people in your building.

No one wants a friend list of strangers to clutter their News Feed. Everyone coming into their freshmen year is looking to meet new friends, so once you start meeting people in your classes, residence, and around campus, the social connections will happen naturally! Don’t stress, your friends are coming.

3. Don’t Share Everything

Suddenly you are totally consumed with new people, new places, and a ton of new experiences. While you may be excited to share photos of your new dorm room or experiences of getting lost trying to find your first class with your followers, they might not be as enthusiastic.

Social media allows people to pick and choose what they want to see and who they want to follow. If you’re trying to maintain a social media following, it’s essential that you remain engaging and entertaining—without oversharing.

4. Nothing is Private Once It’s Been Posted

While university is an amazing experience, the beginning of your career is a few short years away. Once these years pass, your digital identity will most likely affect your chances of getting hired. While not every potential employer is going to go to extreme lengths to see what you are all about, it’s still important to remember that any inappropriate or offensive content could come back to haunt you.

Every once in a while, we tend to overshare based purely on emotions. It may not seem like a big deal to post a sentence long status update that negatively describes a professor or class. You probably wouldn’t realize how easy it is for those types of things to get back to the person you talk about, so be wary of what you post.

5. Do Use Social Media for Finding Campus Activities

It’s easy to join different groups or event pages to get a sense of what is going on around your campus. Many universities use their Twitter feeds and Facebook pages to promote campus activities. Reading (or even subscribing to) the campus newspaper online and following your university’s athletic teams will give you a great way to find out events happening that you might be interested in.

If you’re interested in hearing more tips on transforming from having adolescent social media habits to using social media professionally, make sure to vote for this panel to be at SXSWedu 2015 for a chance to meet them in Austin.

]]>http://blog.hootsuite.com/incoming-freshmen-need-to-know-about-social-media/feed/0Are You Pro or Anti-Hashtag? Question of the Weekhttp://blog.hootsuite.com/are-you-pro-or-anti-hashtag/
http://blog.hootsuite.com/are-you-pro-or-anti-hashtag/#commentsSat, 30 Aug 2014 10:00:20 +0000http://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=64423Hashtags: we love them, we hate them, we love to hate them and hate to love them. Because hashtags are such an ingrained part of the tech culture, it’s... Read More

]]>Hashtags: we love them, we hate them, we love to hate them and hate to love them. Because hashtags are such an ingrained part of the tech culture, it’s tough to find someone who doesn’t know what they mean, or even more-so, doesn’t use them. They recently were added to the Oxford dictionary and can be inserted anywhere within a sentence.

Once upon a time they were only found on your phone (remember that pound sign?), but now have a place on most popular social networks, including Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Vine and Pinterest. The hashtag is likely the most popular means of categorizing content on social media. It makes your own content discoverable and allows you to find relevant content from other people and businesses.

The hashtag also allows you to connect with and engage other social media users based on a common theme or interest. But when it comes to hashtags, we’ve found that there tend to be a lot of do’s and don’ts. For example, the quantity of hashtags — how many is too many? As well as frustrating other users, the misuse of hashtags can even lead to account suspensions (in really extreme cases).

Since there is so much controversy surrounding the use of hashtags, we decided to ask our Twitter followers if they were Pro or Anti-Hashtag, and why? We received a ton of great answers, a few of which even surprised us! Let’s take a look and see what our followers thought about the usage of hashtags:

]]>http://blog.hootsuite.com/are-you-pro-or-anti-hashtag/feed/0How Do You React When Your Favorite Social Network Goes Down? Question of the Weekhttp://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-react-when-favorite-social-network-goes-down-question-week/
http://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-react-when-favorite-social-network-goes-down-question-week/#commentsSat, 09 Aug 2014 12:00:16 +0000http://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=63735It always ends up happening on your first day back at work after a long weekend, or at 4:45 when the day is winding down. You have a ton... Read More

]]>It always ends up happening on your first day back at work after a long weekend, or at 4:45 when the day is winding down. You have a ton of emails to answer, or have to do a bunch of tiny tasks that just need to happen before the weekend — and then it happens: your favorite social media network goes down at the worst possible time.

It’s unavoidable. These things are going to happen.

Only a few years ago, no one could have imagined what life would be like with social media. Today no one can imagine what life would be like without it. Last week, Facebook and Instagram went down, leaving millions of users without access to their personal data. Though it was only briefly, there was an instantaneous confusion. Some considered this to be quite the emergency and in fact starting calling the LA Sheriff’s Department to see what was happening. While we hope our followers are not going to be that dramatic about a social media network outage, we were interested in how they react when their favorite social network goes down. We had some awesome answers (a few really made us laugh). So let’s take a look at some of your answers:

]]>http://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-react-when-favorite-social-network-goes-down-question-week/feed/0What Advice Would You Give a New Twitter User? Question of the Weekhttp://blog.hootsuite.com/advice-give-new-twitter-user-question-week/
http://blog.hootsuite.com/advice-give-new-twitter-user-question-week/#commentsSat, 02 Aug 2014 11:00:53 +0000http://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=63611When most people are starting out on Twitter, they create a new account and begin asking themselves, “What do I do now?” Social media networks that have so much opportunity... Read More

]]>When most people are starting out on Twitter, they create a new account and begin asking themselves, “What do I do now?”

Social media networks that have so much opportunity and potential can absolutely be a bit intimidating. Knowing that first impressions can mean a lot, its easy for new users to feel overwhelmed by the amount of things to do — adding a bio, profile photo, cover photo, finding people to follow and of course the anxiety of, “What am I even going to say on here?”

Many of us that have been on Twitter since it’s beginning have seen a massive transition and evolution; we’ve been able to grow and transform along with this social network. But what about those jumping onboard in the middle of all of this change? Knowing that most of our followers are experienced social media users who have a ton of insight into the world of Twitter, we decided to ask our followers what piece of advice they would give to a brand new Twitter user. We were surprised by how many really awesome replies we got! Let’s take a look at what you think the most important piece of advice is for someone just starting out on Twitter:

@hootsuite That Twitter at its best is conversation, not broadcasting, not spectating. — realscientists (@realscientists) July 27, 2014

@hootsuite follow the people you want to hear from, have a correct bio and a display picture, and tweet your mind! — Aman Alam (@AmanAlam) July 27, 2014

@hootsuite Engage people when you like what they say, or do. It’s a platform that allows an infinite amount of positive connectivity. — VOE (@VOE_Music) July 26, 2014

It’s incredibly important to make sure you are not just following people for the numbers; you need to be following people who inspire you by sharing and engaging with incredible content! Sometimes it’s hard to remember that Twitter really is a place for conversation in the noise of those who broadcast instead.

@hootsuite 1. Use a real profile picture.. 2. Be a human, this is social platform not bot platform.. — Andi Ramdani (@andiramdani) July 26, 2014

No one likes feeling like they are talking to a robot, so making sure you have a profile photo, cover image and genuine bio are really important! People are sharing and engaging in conversation more than ever before. To get the most from social media as a useful marketing tool, you can’t jump in haphazardly.

@hootsuite hash tags are topical, don’t smush a sentence together and call it a hashtag. — Tabitha T (@Tabbulous) July 27, 2014

Hashtags can be a complicated thing to understand. Simply put, hashtags are used to categorize Tweets by keyword. People use the hashtag symbol when using a relevant keyword or phrase to categorize and help them show up easily in Twitter search. By clicking on a hashtagged word, a stream of all any message with that hashtag will pop up.

]]>http://blog.hootsuite.com/advice-give-new-twitter-user-question-week/feed/05 Awesome Social Media Contests (Plus How to Create Your Own)http://blog.hootsuite.com/5-awesome-social-media-contests-plus-create/
http://blog.hootsuite.com/5-awesome-social-media-contests-plus-create/#commentsThu, 31 Jul 2014 11:00:54 +0000http://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=63522Have you been looking for an inexpensive, effortless and exciting way to grow your brand on social media? Lately, there have been a ton of great online contests... Read More

]]>Have you been looking for an inexpensive, effortless and exciting way to grow your brand on social media? Lately, there have been a ton of great online contests that are affordable and a measurable way to grow your sales, business, and brand. If you can get it right, you’ll be engaging consumers with your brand in a personal and playful way.

Many businesses on social media have tried their hand at running a contest of one kind or another. Launching these contests isn’t the most challenging, but your positioning definitely has to be tailored to your market. Contests on social media need to be fun, they need to have some kind of creativity worked in, and be super easy to join.

5 Strategies for Running a Successful Contest on Social Media

1. Set yourself a goal. There are all kinds of reasons to launch a contest, but you need to know beforehand what your end goal is.

2. Be creative. What kind of contest are you going to hold? This is a great chance to try something new and inventive.

3. Leverage all of your social channels. Get more eyes on your contest, and therefore more participation by your followers!

4. Don’t let things drag out. Don’t let your contests run for too long. Shorter contests are often more likely to go viral and resonate with your customers instead of falling to the side.

5. MEASURE EVERYTHING! Make sure after it is all said and done, that you measure the contest’s impact on your brand engagement, clickthrough rates, conversions and sales.

Oh, and please, don’t be lame, corny, or pushy—people don’t like that.

We’ve all seen a ton of contests on Facebook. It seems as though the most successful contests are ones that appeal to the lifestyle and passions of a brand’s audience. Now that we’ve gone over some strategies to launching a successful contest on social media, lets go over a few really awesomely branded contests on Facebook that were a huge success:

Sephora is a socially savvy leading chain of beauty stores. They have nearly 6 million likes on their Facebook page, and over 1,300 stores in 27 countries. Last summer, Sephora ran their Sweet 15 Sweepstakes on their Facebook page, in celebration of their 15 years.

Facebook users had to simply complete an entry form, which gave them the chance to win a five-day all inclusive trip to Costa Rica, plus a year’s supply of their Surf product.

Sephora knew that to appeal to their modern, fashion conscious consumers, they had to have a grand prize that was luxurious and exotic. They were able to couple their brand image with their cosmetics through Bumble and bumble’s surf product.

Have you heard of Qwertee? It’s a limited edition t-shirt producer that sells t-shirts that are created each day. They are pretty awesome designs which, at $12-$15 a pop, are very affordable.

They ran an incredibly successful contest on Facebook where entrants had to like their page and submit their email address for a chance to win. With the goal of hitting 100,000 Facebook Page ‘Likes’, they had a prize of winning 30 free t-shirts.

They achieved their goal and now have close to 240,000 likes on their Facebook page! They’re not marketing shirts through other sweepstakes offers, which are all brand and product related. By hitting their branding the right way, they attracted a ton of motivated followers which now are customers.

Dove makes beauty products and are branded globally as “committed to help all women realize their personal beauty potential by creating products that deliver real care.” By promoting self-esteem for women and girls and using real looking models in their campaigns, they have become a brand women around the world can connect with.

Dove launched a ‘Real Beauty Should be Shared’ contest on Facebook which couldn’t have been closer to hitting the bullseye. This contest consisted of a fill-in-the-blank contest with photos. They asked their followers to tell them why their friend “represents Real Beauty” by filling in their friend’s name and two things that makes them beautiful.

Sherpas Cinema is a film and television production company out of Whistler BC. Specializing in action sport, documentary, brand, commercial, and educational film, these guys make some awe-inspiring videos.

Sherpas Cinema knew exactly who they were targeting when they launched a contest asking Facebook users to ‘like’ their page for a chance to win a 7-day heliski trip with Bella Coola Heli Sports and gear from The North Face, Go Pro, Black Diamond, Smith Optics and Teva.

The contest helped them get close to 50,000 followers on Facebook, and was an important part of promoting their movie Into the Mind. Keep an eye out for this awesome brand; if they keep doing what they’re doing we are sure to see big things.

Vans Custom Culture is a national high school shoe customization contest where schools from all over the United States get the chance to win money for their art programs. In it’s fourth year, Vans Custom Culture has 77,000 likes on their Facebook page and is working to help students “embrace their creativity and draw attention to the importance of art as an integral part of our schools’ focus in the face of shrinking budgets.”

The first 1,500 U.S. schools that register for Vans Custom Culture receive four pairs of Vans Shoes to come up with their own amazing creations. After the shoes are created, photo submissions are made online and global voting to whittle down the submissions to the final five.

Using the hashtag #vanscustomculture, they were able to promote this contest across all platforms, connecting their Facebook account to their Twitter account and vise-versa. What a great way to gain more followers!

Social media contests can increase engagement, follower numbers, and ultimately brand loyalty. Its pretty awesome making your followers happy, isn’t it? Do you have any great examples of successful social media contests? Let us know in the comments below!

Be sure to subscribe to the Hootsuite blog for more social media tips, tricks, news and insights.

]]>http://blog.hootsuite.com/5-awesome-social-media-contests-plus-create/feed/0Screen Shot 2014-07-30 at 10.53.45 AM<i> Screenshot from CouponCousins <a href=" http://couponcousins.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/sephora.jpg" </a></a></i>Screen Shot 2014-07-30 at 11.20.19 AMScreen shot taken from business2community.comPost-50-Image-12Image via jasonhjh.comScreen Shot 2014-07-30 at 12.07.49 PMScreenshot via Sherpas Cinema WebsiteScreen Shot 2014-07-30 at 1.31.51 PMScreenshot from the Vans Custom Culture Facebook PageWhat is Your Go-To Social Media Device? Question of the Weekhttp://blog.hootsuite.com/goto-social-media-device-question-of-week/
http://blog.hootsuite.com/goto-social-media-device-question-of-week/#commentsSat, 26 Jul 2014 11:00:51 +0000http://blog.hootsuite.com/?p=63410How many times a day do you walk by people on the street, on the bus, or in restaurants who are using their smartphones? Now that it has... Read More

]]>How many times a day do you walk by people on the street, on the bus, or in restaurants who are using their smartphones? Now that it has become such a regular part of life, we hardly notice how often we use our phones. But what are we really doing on there all day? If we’re being really honest, we can admit that we aren’t using our phones for business calls or online banking. According to the Adobe 2013 Mobile Consumer Survey, social media is the number one activity.

This week Facebook revealed in its second-quarter earnings that it has nearly 400 million mobile-only monthly users. More than a billion users sign onto Facebook from a mobile device in any given month, but the number of mobile-only users saw a huge jump this past quarter, picking up 58 million mobile-only accounts. Last week we asked our Twitter followers which type of mobile device they used to access social media: mobile, tablet or desktop?

After seeing the new trends, we can’t really say we were surprised by the answers. Let’s take a look and see what our followers are using to access their social media accounts:

@hootsuite the world is a mobile place. Capturing things in the moment that aren’t staged is what social media should be about.

While we absolutely had followers tell us that they most regularly used their desktop or tablet, we had an overwhelming amount of responses that were based around mobile use.

The Adobe survey explained that “consumers are also using their mobile devices to view Facebook fan pages of their favorite brands. Today’s brands should have mobile-optimized experiences for offers that are launched from their Facebook fan pages. This is most important for brands that target younger demographics, with 94% of the young segment and 88% of the middle segment accessing social networks via mobile devices.”

So when you start to plan for a social engagement with your customers or followers, remember to think mobile. If you haven’t yet established a mobile social media strategy, now, more than ever, is the time to start implementing one.

Do you have an opinion on the move towards mobile for social media users? Join the conversation and let us know what you think in the comments below!